👾Hugging Face Drops New Humanoid Robots

Today we will discuss:

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• Two new robots from Hugging Face—HopeJR and Reachy Mini are open-source, low-cost, and built for AI experimentation

• Don’t miss this week’s Workflow Wednesday—save time with AI using Guidde to turn slides into narrated videos, plus faster scripting with Jasper and auto-summaries via GPT + Slack; now available at only $20/month! 

• Black Forest Labs launches faster image models with editing tools—Flux.1 Kontext models focus on speed, prompt accuracy, and photorealistic results, now available to test online

• In other AI news—The New York Times signs an AI licensing deal with Amazon, Perplexity launches a Pro-only tool to generate dashboards and spreadsheets, Researchers warn AI could consume more power than Bitcoin by year-end, and China unveils the world’s first AI-powered nuclear inspector

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Hugging Face expands robotics lineup with two new humanoid robots

Key Points 

• Hugging Face released two open-source humanoid robots designed for walking, talking, and testing AI apps at scale.

• The robots are priced to be accessible, with the larger HopeJR costing $3,000 and Reachy Mini starting around $250.

🤖News - Hugging Face is expanding its presence in robotics with the launch of two new humanoid robots: HopeJR and Reachy Mini. 

HopeJR is a full-sized robot with 66 actuated degrees of freedom, which means it can walk, move its arms, and perform complex motions. Reachy Mini is a smaller, desktop version designed to test AI apps. It can move its head, listen, and speak, making it a useful tool for developers working on robotics and AI integrations.

Both robots are open source and designed to be affordable. HopeJR is expected to cost around $3,000, while Reachy Mini will range between $250 and $300, depending on tariffs. 

🥸The mission driving the machines - Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue says the goal is to keep robotics accessible so that innovation isn’t limited to a few big players using closed, black-box systems. The company hasn’t confirmed a shipping date yet, but early units may be available by the end of the year. The waitlist is already open.

This release builds on Hugging Face’s April acquisition of Pollen Robotics, which brought in the expertise needed to develop these humanoids. It’s part of a broader robotics strategy that also includes LeRobot, the company’s open platform for AI-powered robotics, and an upgraded version of its programmable robotic arm, the SO-101.

Read the full story here. 

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Black Forest Labs enters the AI race with powerful new image models

Key Points 

• Black Forest Labs, backed by a16z and ex-Stability AI talent, is scaling quickly with growing investor interest.

• Flux.1 Kontext delivers fast, photorealistic image generation with strong prompt-following and advanced editing capabilities.

👨‍💻News - Black Forest Labs, once behind the image generation in X’s Grok chatbot, has just launched a new family of image models and they’re seriously fast. 

🤓Here’s the lowdown - The flagship model, Flux.1 Kontext, can generate and edit images using text prompts and optional reference photos. According to the company, it delivers photorealistic results, follows prompts closely, handles typography well, and runs up to 8x faster than leading competitors.

There are two standout versions: Flux.1 Kontext [pro] and [max]. The “pro” version supports multi-step editing while keeping characters and styles intact. The “max” version is all about speed and prompt accuracy. There’s also a third model, Flux.1 Kontext [dev], which is entering private beta for research and safety testing and unlike the others, it may eventually be open-source.

Unlike earlier Black Forest models, these can’t be downloaded for offline use. But users can try them out in a new browser-based playground, with 200 free credits to get started, enough to generate around a dozen images using [pro].

Read the full story here.